A local contractor is taking his case to court because he disagrees with the Los Ba&#241;os Unified School district's decision to award another construction company the bid to build its new high school.</p><p>Asserting a conflict of interest in the facilities subcommittee that made the recommendation to award the bid to F & H Construction, Inc. and citing the school district did not own the land where the project is set to be built, Greg Opinski Construction Inc. is asking the court to void the contract between the school district and F & H.</p><p>Opinski's lawsuit, filed July 23 in Merced County Superior Court, alleges that members of the panel from the facilities subcommittee who interviewed bidders are also "team members" from F & H Construction. Opinski claims these "team members," who are with architectural firm, Urban Ernst Design Group, worked together to ensure F & H Construction was awarded the contract.</p><p>Superintendent Steve Tietjen said the only person in question, Sue Bell, is not now and has never been employed by F & H Construction. He said Bell's firm has designed schools that F & H Construction has built. He said the district consulted with one of its lawyers and checked the background of the alleged "team members." The attorney said there was no financial obligation between the team members and the construction company.</p><p>"The owner is the school district," Tietjen pointed out. "They all (the architect and construction company) work for the owner."</p><p>Opinski Construction has pending litigation with at least three other school districts including the Merced County Office of Education, Tietjen said.</p><p>Neither Opinski or his lawyer returned repeated phone calls for comment.</p><p>The second allegation in the lawsuit is that the school district wrongfully awarded the contract to F & H Construction because the district does not "own the real property upon which the project was to be constructed."</p><p>The allegation comes from a technicality of a lease-lease back agreement, which the district is using to build the new high school. The lease-lease back agreement stipulates that the district cannot enter into a contract with a firm without owning the construction site.</p><p>Tietjen said the board of education approved the purchase of the new high school site at its July 17 meeting. Tietjen said it hasn't entered into a lease-lease back contract with F & H Construction but expects to do so at the district's Aug. 14 trustee meeting when the land acquisition is finalized.</p><p>Also at their August meeting, trustees will finalize their list of sub-contractors for the project. Opinski claims that F & H Construction has no plans to use the local workforce for the new high school even though it was a priority for the district.</p><p>The conflict between Opinski and the school district began in May when trustees selected Stockton-based F & H Construction to build its new high school. The company was chosen out of three finalists that included Opinski and Durham Construction Co. out of El Dorado.</p><p>Opinski made his displeasure known during an open forum at the meeting.</p><p>Citing his long relationship with the school district in which he has done more than $20 million worth of work and that he was allegedly the "lowest responsible bidder" on the high school contract by $1 million, Opinksi said it was his company that should have been awarded the bid.</p><p>Tietjen said since the district is building the high school using the lease-lease back approach, which allows the board of education to select a contractor based on many factors besides the lowest price, F & H Construction's familiarity with the project was key in the board's decision.</p><p>F & H Construction was the general contractor of Westin Ranch, Lathrop and Kimball high schools, after which the new high school is being modeled.</p><p>"The big advantage is they have built it three times before," Tietjen said adding that another Fresno-based company also impressed the panel but its proposal was too expensive. "We also wanted to be sure that we were watching our dollars."</p><p>As it stands now Tietjen said the district has 30 days to respond to Opinski's complaint.</p><p>Tietjen said the district will move on with the notice to proceed with F & H Construction. The lawsuit only has a slight potential to stall the project, he said.</p><p>Tietjen, who is still relatively new to the school district, said the working relationship between Opinski and the district appeared to be good and he can only speculate as to what prompted the conflict.</p><p>"He, like several others, helped pass the bond," Tietjen said. "Maybe he felt he had a right to the job."</p><p><i>Enterprise reporter Minerva Perez can be reached by phone at (209)388-6565 or by e-mail at mperez@losbanosenterprise.com</i>